Drug probe yields $4.5 million in cocaine

State and federal authorities today were to announce the outcome of a major drug trafficking investigation that so far has resulted in the seizure of cocaine worth more than $4.5 million.

Two Maryland men were arrested Wednesday on southbound Interstate 95 near Elkton and charged with possession of 71.5 pounds of cocaine, State Police said.

In the incident, a trooper had stopped a car for speeding and asked both the driver and passenger for identification. The trooper noticed a small amount of cocaine on the passenger's ID card, police said.

The officer then searched the car. The cocaine, believed to be bound for Prince George's County, was found in the trunk of the 1988 Cadillac, police said.

Arthur G. Watson, 53, of Suitland, and Austin H. Jenkins, 44, of Fort Washington, were each charged with smuggling, distribution and possession of cocaine, police said. They were being held at the Cecil County Detention Center in lieu of $800,000 bond each.